Archive for the ‘Boring Bits’ Category

ToolWolf prides itself on having one of the largest selections of tungsten carbide-tipped wood boring bits and solid carbide router bits on the internet.

For over a decade, our experienced team of woodworking professionals has scoured the world – from Europe to Asia – to find the best cutting tools for both the large and boutique woodworking shops in the U.S. We carry a full line of metric boring bits for both line boring and CNC machines. We also offer a full range of solid carbide compression router bits for CNC applications.

Here are a few other inventory categories that we provide to our clientele:

Line boring machines are nowhere near as prominent as they once were. With the advent of CNC machines for routing, boring and sawing tasks, the old-line boring machines have fallen off as the go-to piece of equipment in most custom cabinet makers’ shops. But, that’s not to say that they don’t still perform their primary function – creating dowel or through holes in melamine or plywood – quite well.

ToolWolf is committed to its long list of craftsmen who still utilize their line boring machines every day to create high quality millwork and cabinetry. As such, we stock a lot of hard-to-find sizes and types of metric boring bits. In this post, we want to briefly describe the boring bits we carry for one of the most famous line boring machines – the Ayen.

Differences between Ayen bits and regular metric boring drills:

Not all boring bits are created equal. Sure, the cutting diameters of most are measured in millimeters, but that’s where the similarities end. For Ayen machine enthusiasts, the boring bits for their machines are much different than those for other types of line boring or CNC machines.

The primary difference is that Ayen bits come with a threaded shank that screws into the drill head on the machine. This is different than standard bits that have a smooth round shank, with a flat on one side, which mount to their machines with two set screws. The Ayen boring bits come in either an 8mm or 10mm diameter threaded shank. ToolWolf carries both.

The next difference is in the standard cutting length. Ayen bits come with a standard cutting length of 43mm, which is quite a bit longer than the 27mm or 35mm cut lengths common to regular metric boring bits.

The threaded shank and longer cutting length give the Ayen bits the dual advantages of a more secure mount and a longer cutting length for the craftsman whose dowel or through bore holes must be of high quality and consistency.

While ToolWolf does keep both the dowel (brad point) and thru-bore (v-tip), and 8mm or 10mm shank, Ayen bits in stock, we don’t list them on the website due to their special nature. If you’re interested, give us a call at 801-742-1741 or email us at sales@toolwolf.com and we can provide availability and pricing information. You can also find us by clicking the link to our contact us page. Thanks!

We get asked all the time by custom cabinet shops, closet makers and other small woodworking professionals to explain the best applications for brad point, thru bore or hinge boring bits. For many craftsmen, they’re accustomed to dealing with tools built using the U.S. standard form of measurement – not the metric system.

Since most of the major woodworking equipment manufacturers got their start in Europe, many of the industrial woodworking tools were manufactured to metric specifications (as this is the common standard of measurement throughout much of the world). For professionals just getting started with European-made machinery, we’re giving a high-level overview below of the three main types of drills and boring tools that they’re likely to encounter, including their best application.

Brad Point (or Dowel) Boring Bits
Brad Point drills provide a clean entry and flat bottom hole in laminated composite wood and solid wood materials. Brad Point drills will likely “blow out” the exit hole in most materials; however, when supported by a spoil board an acceptable exit hole may be obtained in some materials.
Brad Point drills are typically used to provide a flat bottom drill hole for dowels, shelve pins and fasteners.
Drills utilize the industry standard 10mm diameter shank with set screw flat. The shank is internally threaded and holds a set screw for depth of cut adjustments or the set screw can be removed to use quick change connectors.

Thru-Bore (or V-tip) Boring Bits
Thru-bore drills provide a clean entry and exit hole in laminated composite wood and solid wood materials. They are designed to avoid “blow out” from the exit hole in most materials.
Thru-bore drills are typically used to provide a clean drill hole for connections and fasteners.
Drills utilize the industry standard 10mm diameter shank with set screw flat. The shank is internally threaded and holds a set screw for depth of cut adjustments or the set screw can be removed to use quick change connectors.

Hinge (or Forstner-style) Boring Bits
Hinge bit drills have a centering point and two carbide spur cutters to provide a clean entry and exit hole in single or double-sided laminated composite and solid wood materials.
Hinge bit drills are used to provide drill holes for hinge, lock and door assemblies.
Drills utilize the industry standard 10mm diameter shank with set screw flat. The shank is internally threaded and holds a set screw for depth of cut adjustments or the set screw can be removed to use quick change connectors.
Hinge bit drills are available in custom diameters and designs. Solid carbide insert knife versions are available and provides for lower operating costs in high volume production applications.

For years, ToolWolf has been the leading industry supplier of panel saw blades and boring bits for custom cabinet makers and the custom closet industry. In fact, we have many customers who belong to the Cabinet Makers Association, an organization that provides great resources to its members:

ToolWolf is a leading supplier to the custom closet industry. Our customers include many California Closets and Closets by Design locations. The main industrial tooling that the makers of custom closets most like is our line of solid carbide boring bits. You can check them out here:

There are several advantages to the solid carbide boring bits over regular tungsten carbide tipped boring bits:

Cutting edges stay sharper for longer
Slightly modified cutting angle of the spiral is ideal for melamine and other laminate materials
They are only slightly more expensive than regular carbide tipped boring bits
They can be sharpened more times and have a longer overall life span

Our custom closet manufacturers love these bits. ToolWolf is one of the leading suppliers of cutting tools to the industrial woodworking marketplace.

These carbide-tipped drills have been in use in the woodworking industry for many years. They provide the industrial woodworking community with a cost-effective means of creating clean cuts in melamine, solid wood or any other wood-based material.

Metric boring bits can be used in dowel or thru-bore applications and come in a vast array of sizes. Sold by ToolWolf at low cost, metric boring bits are sold in size increments from 2.0 millimeters all the way up to 50 millimeters in diameter. No matter what your application, there is a boring bit that will work.

Depending on your specific woodworking application, you may prefer one of the styles above to its cutting tool brethren. ToolWolf has the largest inventory of solid carbide and carbide-tipped metric boring bits on the internet.

ToolWolf is one of the industry’s leading online e-commerce sites providing metric boring bits for CNC machines. Our carbide-tipped, metric boring bits come in a wide array of sizes and cutting styles to support any application.

We specialize in metric tooling for the industrial woodworking market. Among our best selling items are the following metric boring bits for CNC machine:

– Tungsten Carbide Tipped: These are traditional style boring bits with a body made of steel and a tungsten carbide tip used for the cutting application. These bits are cost-effective and long-lasting.

ToolWolf.com is your sole source for industrial woodworking tooling for use on CNC or line boring machines.

We’re all familiar with the traditional hinge, brad point and thru-bore style boring bits. They exist on every line boring and CNC machine in the woodworking industry. But there are a lot of specialty boring bits as well that serve a variety of applications, some highly specialized and some more general in nature.

Let’s start with the countersink application. To create a countersink, you’ll need one of the following:
– A “shank” or “twist” style attachment that fits over a traditional boring bit
– A customized one-piece, two-step bit that has either a thru bore or brad point main point and a countersink second step
– A one-piece specialty bit, similar to what would be used for the Confirmat or RTA system

Another possibility occurs when you need to create a flat-bottomed secondary hole. This would entail the use of a counter-bore application. The options are less numerous in this situation, but a customized one-piece, two-step bit with a brad point or thru bore main point and counter-bore second step is available. If you don’t go this route, you’ll usually have to make a first pass with a traditional bit and then a second pass with a hinge bit.

There are other types of specialty multi-step bits as well. Those used for the Grass America or Hafele systems are quite common and it’s easiest to just buy them already made from a company like Tool Wolf who keeps them in stock.

No matter what the specialty boring application, Tool Wolf has seen it before and typically stocks, or can custom manufacture, these special boring bits. Check out our catalog here.

Tungsten carbide tipped metric boring bits have been used in the woodworking industry for a long time. They’re highly effective in line boring or CNC machines for drilling all the way through certain types of materials, or creating flat bottomed holes. However, in our constant search to bring our customers innovative products, Tool Wolf has discovered that a solid carbide version of these bits can work better in certain instances.

Before we discuss the best application of these tools, let’s give a brief description. In contrast to standard TCT bits, the entire cutting length is made of solid carbide. See a picture here (note that we’re discussing bits with a 10mm shank and not the jobber style bits): http://www.toolwolf.com/product/product-category/solid-carbide-boring-bit/. Also, the spiral of the bit has a different profile than that of a standard boring bit which can work better to clear material in certain applications.

There are primarily two different reasons why our customers choose the solid carbide boring bits over their TCT counterparts:

– For a cleaner cut in man-made materials with a delicate paper coating on the top or bottom
– For overall longer life in boring applications so that bits aren’t being changed out as frequently

As already mentioned, the different spiral design of these tools makes these bits a little different. It also allows for cleaner entry and exit in materials that have a paper (or other delicate) coating so that there is no tearing or flaking around the holes.

The other feature of these bits is that they last between 7 and 10 times longer than traditional TCT bits. Because their entire cutting length is carbide, they can be sharpened more times and go longer between sharpenings.

So our recommendation? Give them a try! If you’re skeptical, order a few the next time you replace your set of bits and compare them with your standard TCT versions. We think you’ll be pleasantly surprised.